Agadez

Agadez lies on the southern edge of the Air Mountains in central Niger, where the Sahara meets the Sahel. It replaced the older centre of Assodé and grew without a great river or dense farmland. Wells, grazing, craft production and the ability to organise caravans gave the site its value, and Tuareg pastoralists, Hausa traders and merchants from distant oases met there.

By the fifteenth century Agadez linked Kano and the Lake Chad country with Timbuktu and the Niger Bend, while northern routes ran through Ghat and Ghadames toward Tripoli. Salt from Bilma, textiles, livestock, grain, metal goods, books and enslaved people moved through these networks. The town became the seat of a sultanate in 1449. The Songhai conquered it in 1515 and held the city until their regional power collapsed in 1591.

The Grand Mosque, built in 1515, the Sultan's palace and dense earthen quarters gave the city a ceremonial and commercial centre. The sultans settled disputes among caravans and taxed salt, livestock and market sales. Silversmiths and leatherworkers produced crosses, saddles and tools for caravan customers, and Islamic scholars served as notaries and teachers. Narrow shaded passages and closely packed earthen houses reduced exposure to wind and sun.